CONSERVATION In 2018 Lincolnshire Wildlife Park chartered a new course for psittacine conservation in zoos around Europe by commencing the Captive Parrot Conservation Program. This program enabled the development of a unique gene pool for psittacines bred for UK and European collections.
Captive Parrot Conservation Programme As more species face extinction around the world, it is a zoo’s moral obligation to support as many programmes as possible that have a positive effect on both flora and fauna.
Already holding over 100 species, our long-term intention is to increase numbers to enable captive security for the common parrot alongside the more endangered species already recognised in the parrot world.
The National Parrot Sanctuary recognises that the psittacine (parrot) is a very important creature within captive populations and over the past decade parrot populations have decreased massively within the United Kingdom, caused by several factors.
This totally new concept is directed towards preserving the species within captivity while benefiting in-situ conservation projects around the world. Lincolnshire Wildlife Park provides a unique facility that fulfils and encourages the natural reproductive needs of the many psittacines that enter the Park, without the worry of overstocking - whilst allowing European collections to have young, parent reared, unrelated, disease-free birds to enter their facilities, something never been achieved before. This conservation program validates our Conservation Policy, which states: “Lincolnshire Wildlife Park will continue to support the preservation and restoration of all psittacines both in captivity and their natural habitats”.
Now, the unstable population needs help. The common species of parrot has maintained its position within captivity through previous mass importation, generating ample breeding stock which in turn produced a significant amount of hand reared specimens for the pet market. Sadly, the majority of these birds are unsuitable for breeding, and with the welcome arrival of the import ban on wild birds in 2006, the parrot population has fallen into mass decline with many of the more common parrots almost extinct in captivity. Unfortunately, it is with this fact in mind, that it will only be a matter of time before UK zoos are devoid of the spectacular parrot family.
